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By Gulsen Topcu</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) - At least 27 Houthi rebels were killed in clashes with the Yemeni army in southeastern Al-Bayda province, local media reported Thursday.</p> <p>National army forces backed by popular resistance groups launched an operation after Houthis attempted to carry out an attack in Az Zahir district, according to the Ministry of Defense’s official website September Net.</p> <p>The website didn’t provide information on the number of injured.</p> <p>The Houthi militia announced Thursday that they had released 15 captives, according to SABA News Agency.</p> <p>Al-Bayda Governor Ali Mohammad Al Mansouri said the release was carried out “to strengthen the values ​​of love and tolerance”.</p> <p>Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.</p> <p>The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.</p> <p>The ongoing conflict has wrecked much of the impoverished country’s basic infrastructure, prompting the UN to describe the situation there as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.</p> <p>*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur</p> <p>

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) - UN human rights experts welcomed on Wednesday the release of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar but said they have serious concerns about the judicial process in the country and the fact that their guilty verdicts still stand.</p> <p>Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, who had been detained since December 2017, were each sentenced to seven years in prison last September for allegedly breaching a colonial-era law by investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya men in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017.</p> <p>“While it is good news that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been reunited with their families and will not have to carry out the remainder of their sentences, their convictions under the Official Secrets Act have not been withdrawn and they should never have been prosecuted in the first place,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye.</p> <p> “We remain terribly concerned about the state of media freedom and the democratic space in Myanmar. The authorities have a considerable way to go to in law, policy and institution-building to ensure a minimum level of democratic space, which is particularly important in the lead-up to national elections next year,” the statement said.</p> <p> The two Reuters journalists were among 6,520 inmates released Tuesday under a third round of pardons by Myanmar President Win Myint to celebrate the traditional New Year, which began April 17.</p> <p>&quot;I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues,&quot; Wa Lone told a crowd of reporters after his release.</p> <p> <p> Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.</p> <p>According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.</p> <p>Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).</p> <p>The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- and brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. </p> <p>In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity and genocidal intent.

By Dilara Hamit</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Young people in Turkey are still seeking job security, a better living status and an open career path, a generational studies expert said Wednesday.</p> <p>In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Evrim Kuran, the director of an employer branding research and consulting company, said the employment expectations of generation Y in Turkey are similar to those of Baby Boomers and Generation X.</p> <p>In general, people born between 1946 and 1964 are known as Baby Boomers and Generation Xers were born between 1965 and 1979, while those born between 1980 and 1994 are known as Generation Y.</p> <p>Generation Z, who are just starting to enter the workforce, were born after 1996.</p> <p>&quot;Our research indicates that the stress levels of young Turkish people are very high compared to many other countries,&quot; Kuran said.</p> <p>Kuran said recent graduates and college students in Turkey have more traditional expectations, which is not surprising.</p> <p>She noted that the insufficient number of young entrepreneurs could be directly related to the country's education system.</p> <p>&quot;Our system does not support critical thinking and creative intelligence, which are among the most important competencies of the century.</p> <p>&quot;Therefore, there are not many young people who pursue innovation, take risks and can work with uncertainties,&quot; Kuran said.</p> <p>While stressing that Generation Y has less repressive parents, she said it is not true that they grew up more comfortably compared to previous generations.</p> <p>&quot;We are briefly talking about a generation that is facing unemployment, inadequacy, a lack of talent and professionalism.</p> <p>&quot;Today, unfortunately, many comparative global studies show that the youth in our country are unable to gain competencies and use them in their careers,&quot; she said.<br> <br> </p> <p>- Research alone not enough</p> <p>Although there are many universities in Turkey, Kuran said most of the graduates' qualifications are not sufficient to find a job.</p> <p>&quot;It is too late to wait and form some kind of competency at university,&quot; she said. &quot;Young talents should be invested in starting from their primary education period.&quot;</p> <p>Pointing out how difficult it is to be successful in a competitive business environment, Kuran said a huge amount of individual effort has to be made.</p> <p>&quot;In other words, parents and young people in Turkey have to push more and work hard compared to the world's most developed economies,&quot; she said.</p> <p>Kuran noted that a wide range of studies on Generation Y have been conducted over a decade, providing a meaningful infrastructure for carrying out research on Generation Z.</p> <p>&quot;However, identifying generations or conducting research to understand them are not enough,&quot; she said. &quot;Actions favorable in theory that fail in practice are useless.&quot;</p> <p>She urged the public sector to play a more active role in these studies and work on modified models.</p> <p>&quot;The critical point is what institutions and leaders will contribute to the coming generations.</p> <p>&quot;They should decide which values of the older generations will be embraced and how to make use of these with the new generations,&quot; she added.</p> <p>

By Ahmad Adil</p> <p> </p> <p>CHANDIGARH, India (AA) - Indian and Turkish officials met Wednesday in the capital, New Delhi, and discussed a wide range of topics.</p> <p> <p><br>

Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sedat Onal had a meeting with Gitesh A Sarma, Secretary (West) under the institutional mechanism of Foreign Office Consultations, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

It said the officials held cordial discussions on various aspects of bilateral ties, including examining opportunities for enhancing trade and investment relations.

The ministry said bilateral trade currently totals around $8.6 billion, with a target to reach $10 billion by 2020.

Enhanced cultural interaction, tourism and people-to-people contacts were also discussed, and the two sides also reviewed the current situation in their respective regions and exchanged views on several multilateral issues.

“India and Turkey enjoy close, friendly and deep-rooted ties dating back several centuries and share civilizational links. The recent political exchanges have imparted fresh momentum to our bilateral ties and opened several new avenues for cooperation,” the ministry added.

Onal is visiting India from May 7-9 as part of a regular exchange between the two countries, said officials in New Delhi, adding he had earlier visited India as part of the delegation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 2017.

<p>By Umar Farooq</p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will designate Brazil as a major non-NATO ally.</p> <p>&quot;I am making this designation in recognition of the Government of Brazil's recent commitments to increase defense cooperation with the United States, and in recognition of our own national interest in deepening our defense coordination with Brazil,&quot; Trump said in a statement to Congress.</p> <p>In order to grant major non-NATO ally status to a country, Trump has to wait 30 days after notifying Congress of the intended designation.</p> <p> The benefits of the designation include collaboration on the development of defense technologies, special access to military equipment financing, privileged access to the U.S. defense industry and increased joint military exchanges, exercises and training.</p> <p>Seventeen other countries hold the status of major non-NATO ally including Israel, Japan and South Korea.</p> <p>Trump has previously said the United States is looking &quot;very strongly&quot; at granting Brazil some NATO privileges, noting his administration is &quot;very inclined to do that&quot;.</p> <p>&quot;We are going to look at that very, very strongly in terms of whether it’s NATO or something having to do with the alliance,&quot; the president said in March. </p> <p>Should Brazil ever clear the lengthy process of ascension, it would become the first Latin American nation to join NATO. All 29 of NATO’s member states are in North America and Europe.</p> Trump has long been a critic of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, calling on other member states to shoulder more of its defense burden by increasing military spending.

By Mutlu Demirtastan</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) - English football club Tottenham Hotspur beat Dutch club Ajax 3-2 Wednesday and qualified for the UEFA Champions League final.</p> <p>Defender Matthijs de Ligt gave Ajax the lead in the fifth minute and midfielder Hakim Ziyech netted the second goal in the 35th minute at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam.</p> <p>But Tottenham's Brazilian winger Lucas Moura ended Ajax's fairytale run with a hat-trick. Moura’s goals came in the 55th and 59th minutes and the sixth minute of extra time.</p> <p>Tottenham will face Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final on June 1 in Madrid, Spain.</p> <p>*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur</p> <p>